Airport scuffle: Cops book 28 Jana Sena leaders

Visakhapatnam: The Visakhapatnam Airport police booked cases under various sections including 307 IPC against 28 leaders of the Jana Sena party. This apart, hundreds of people were  rounded up for their alleged involvement in the attack on the ministers at the airport on Saturday evening.

Additional sections were added against Jana Sena leader PLN Murthy, who spearheaded movement against land scams in Visakhapatnam including Daspalla. The police also visited his house at Sivajipalem and questioned his family members.

The police filed two separate cases -- one for the attack on an assistant of minister RK Roja and the other for the attack on police personnel on the bandobast duty at the airport.

A senior police official said on Sunday evening that M Dileep Kumar of Visakhapatnam, personal assistant to minister RK Roja filed a complaint on Saturday evening. The assistant said when he reached the airport, around 200 to 300 Jana Sena workers on instructions from their leader Pawan Kalyan waylaid their vehicles and attacked them with sticks and iron rods. Their intention was to kill minister Roja, he said.

He said that by raising slogans against the YSRC leaders, the mob caused injuries to some people. While he stood guard to the minister, some men threw a dustbin lid at him, which caused a bleeding injury. He was immediately taken to a private hospital and given first aid, the complainant said.

Thereafter, he went to the police station and lodged a complaint against 28 persons whom he said he could recognize as the attackers.

In the second complaint, Pendurthi circle inspector B Nageswara Rao said while on bandobast at the arrival gate, he and his colleagues were attacked by a mob of 300 people with flag-sticks, causing injuries to the police personnel. They raised slogans against the YSRC leaders and then left the place, the complaint said.